


blood & lust

by amaltheas



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Drama, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Gladiators, Mentions of Pregnancy, Revenge, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaltheas/pseuds/amaltheas
Summary: Ben Solo had everything: a loving mother and father, a caring uncle, an estate and calm life in the italian countryside. That changed when Emperor Palpatine destroyed everything that was dear to him because of old feuds. Years after this, Ben returns to Rome, hellbent on revenge as a Gladiator. He worked for years on his plan to overthrow the Emperor, but when his eyes see Palpatine’s granddaughter, things might not go as planned...
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

“Let me go!” Someone screamed in the dark. The wagon did not bother to stop however, so the wailing continued, which annoyed everyone inside the wagon. If that guy would just shut up… the guards accompanying the wagons would certainly not listen to prisoners and free them. Sometimes those people were way too naive.

Everyone in this wagon was here because they had broken the law in some way. Murderers, rapists, blasphemers and so many more. All of them on their way to Rome to face the harshest trial you could find in the whole empire. Most of them deserved their place in this wagon without a question, because they were actually guilty of committing these crimes. Others not so much. Others had been falsely accused because they had angered business partners, friends or even family. It was a weird and twisted way of revenge and one could only feel bad for these people. 

The worst fate was being accused of being a political enemy. Once the empire knew about you being a political enemy, they did not care much about excuses, they took you to Rome with all the other scum of the society, never to be seen again.

Ben Solo was one of them. 

* * *

_ Even though it hurt, he loved to remember his early life at his home.  _

_ The day the guards had arrived, with their heavy armor, many years ago, had been a hot and sunny day. Ben had still been a young child, enjoying his time he spent with his mother that he loved so much, who has always been so gentle and lovely to him. On this special day both of them had planned to go pick fresh lemons from the fields with the lemon trees. Ben loved the smell of those so much, especially during a hot summer like it had been in his memories. Since the day had been so hot, he remembered his father and uncle struggling to water the fields and orchards. One day it would become Ben’s struggle to follow these duties, but on this day it was supposed to be just him and his mother. _

_ It were the last moments of young, innocent Ben Solo, when he was not aware of the pain and sadness one man would cause him, not yet caring about the big picture about his family being such a threat to someone. _

_ At least not yet. _

* * *

A man like Ben Solo should actually feel honored by this accusation, as it came directly from the worst enemy one could wish for: the Emperor himself. Not everyone in this prisoner transport could say this about themselves. 

It was exactly what Ben Solo had hoped for. 

There was some wailing again and someone screaming “Shut the fuck up!”, followed by mumbling and Ben guessed some threats were exchanged in a hushed voice. He closed his eyes, although it made no difference, as it had been quite dark inside the wagon for some time. It was probably night outside. But it still felt that he was able to block out his surroundings, focusing on his memories, going through them before he would face certain death sooner or later. It calmed him.

* * *

_ Again he remembered his home, the estate, a lush dream surrounded by lemon trees, flowers fields and many, tall cypresses, which had burned like dry hay in this heat. On that day Ben had not understood why someone was burning down the house and wanted to see all of them dead. Much later he would remember the sigils on the armor of the guards that had invaded his home. The sigil of the emperor. His mother ran after him, through the lemon trees, far beyond the fields that belonged to them, screaming “Run! Run as far as you can! Don’t look back!”  _

_ He did not dare to look over his shoulders for a long time while he did as his mother had told him, but when he did, his mother was gone. Only the smoke from the burning estate could be seen on the horizon. There had been a strong desire to go back to his home and go look for her, his father, his uncle. But there was also that voice inside him that told him to bring as much distance between himself and his home. His old life. _

_ On this day he had made the first step of growing up: the world was cruel and even though he hoped that his family was still alive, the first night living on the streets had been a horrible experience.  _

_ And over time hope faded. _

* * *

Wondering how things would have gone, if he gave into the desire to return, he opened his eyes. He had decided against following this desire, walking into the opposite direction, further away from his house. Ben had been an orphan from this moment on. 

With each step his heart had been breaking apart.

He had lost everything on that day.

And he was still haunted by it. 

How quickly he had to learn how to use a sword, adjusting to the life on the streets. The comfortable bed of his home was now gone, exchanged for the dirty grounds. The rules were harsh, as soon as he succeeded in stealing from someone, he had to fight other people to keep his treasury. 

With the years his skillset became much better and soon he had become a handsome man, a sellsword, taking on every well paid errand. His handling and fighting with his swords became feared across the villages he travelled to. People had been whispering around him, giving him new names, that he did not bother much about. Let the people have their fantasies to make a bleak day a bit more interesting.

With all those new names a new life for him had begun, but he could never forget his home.

His family.

His past.

His honor that had been tainted on this fateful day so many years ago. He wanted his honor back, avenge his family. This determination was what drove him through all the fights he had to face. Many times he thought he had seen the doors of the underworld, Pluto waiting for him with open arms like an old friend and he almost had expected his family behind that cursed door. But each time he returned to the mortal realm, as if there was a force that wanted him to keep there. To fulfill his task to avenge everyone. 

* * *

_ Like a sign, he had heard someone tell the crowd on the marketplace of a village he had just arrived at, what Emperor Palpatine was doing in Rome. His extravagance, the big festivities, while everyone else in the city was starving. The glorified deaths of many in the Coliseum, while the crowd could enjoy bread and wine. Ben agreed with the anger of the people, he had seen so much sadness and sorrow himself during his journey, he sometimes could not bear it and many times he gave the money away to people in need, after he had fulfilled an errand. He wondered how such a horrible person could lead an Empire so badly. _

_ The narrator of the stories went on to rant about the granddaughter of the emperor, how vain she was, so cold in ignoring the poor people when she did her stroll through the city, showing off her jewels and fine silks. Ben did not care, as this woman was a lesser problem and turned away, having finally come to the conclusion that it was time.  _

_ A few days ago he had finally made the decision to finally set his plan in action. He attacked guards who had been bullying a good, hard working woman because of not paying enough taxes, even killing one of them to guarantee his journey to Rome. By now, he had killed enough people to survive, so maybe he was not as different as some people in this wagon. The worst was that he would have to kill many more people on his way to revenge.  _

* * *

Ben stared into the darkness in front of him. 

Soon he would be a Gladiator, fighting for honor and freedom. To avenge his family. He was out for blood.

And if it would be the last thing he would be doing in this life.


	2. The Coliseum

What a hot day it had been today and yet many people had come to the Coliseum this afternoon to watch a new round of Gladiators fighting for their life. The prospect to get some bread while enjoying some bloody entertainment had apparently been much more convincing than staying at home, where they would not get burned in the sun. The bright stones of the Coliseum made the heat probably even worse. Yet, it was somehow worth getting at least some food into their mouth. 

Ben stood in his cell, trying to catch some glimpses of what was going on outside. These past days he had been forced to train with other newcomers, most of them probably dead by now. Someone had the great idea to send them out alone, where they had to fight animals and guards, diminishing chances of survival and sorting out the unlucky from the lucky. While he could not see anything through the narrow window directed into the big arena, he could at least hear the cheering crowd and the occasional scream when it was over for his fellow Gladiator. 

The goal was to stay alive in these fights, become the newest champion in Rome and gain freedom if the Emperor was liking you. It was an honor not many would experience, with champions becoming too arrogant and then get beat by their successor, often in the most gruesome way. The audience loved it the more dramatic and bloody the fights were. Especially when they took a liking to a certain contender. It was the most crucial part of his plan: not only survive, but also gain the love of the audience. If the audience loved one and the Emperor had to deem you worthy, he would mostly vote in your favor so people stayed satisfied. 

“Hear them, how they celebrate when one of us dies,” he heard a voice in the cell besides him. Since his arrival in Rome, he was able to get to know a few other Gladiators and one of them was the black guy in the cell besides him. Finn, if he remembered his name correctly. It was rare for Gladiators to form friendships, especially when death was awaiting them so soon and maybe by the hand of each other. But Finn had proved to be a nice and kind person, also here for all the wrong reasons. Finn had been working as a blacksmith apprentice, with him saying he was a formidable one, until the army wanted to recruit him and he said no. Well, someone did not like that response, resulting in him landing in the cell he was pacing now, like a tiger ready to be unleashed. 

Ben sighed, sitting down on the ground. The wait was the worst part of this.

“Do you think Poe has survived?” he heard Finn’s voice. 

Poe was another Gladiator both of them had befriended. He had been accused of sleeping with the wife of his employer, a mighty businessman. He had never touched that woman though and Poe had guessed it was one of his colleagues accusing him to get rid of him because of jealousy. Apparently Poe had been very good at his job. 

Over the days they trained together, getting to know each other strengths and weaknesses. Ben knew that Poe moved quickly, moving swiftly and was pretty clever. 

“I am sure,” Ben said with confidence. “We both know that he could outsmart enemies easily.” Poe also had some charm to him and could win the hearts of the audience too. 

After the audience got calmer, they heard guards approaching the cells. Both of them looked at each other. 

“Well, I guess it’s goodbye for now,” said Finn, when they opened his cell. “I hope to see you on the other side again.” 

“Good luck, Finn.” 

They nodded at each other and then Ben stared at the back of Finn, when the guards led him outside. 

Ben was finally alone. 

Again he tried to listen to the sounds coming from the outside. The crowd seemed impressed with Finn’s fight, cheering for him constantly. At least he hoped the cheers were for him. Finn took his time, as the fight dragged along. When the crowd screamed loudly in excitement he hoped Finn had landed the final blow and had won them over. Again, the audience calmed down and it took an eternity until guards appeared at his cell. 

“Your friend left a mess, but now it’s your turn,” laughed one of them. “It was quite a show!” 

Ben did not say anything, but prayed that besides Finn, Poe had also survived. Hopefully he would survive too. 

They arrived at the giant gate where he would walk into the Coliseum. The sun was blinding through the bars of the gate, with the bright stones of the stands and the sand, so he could not see much of what would be waiting for him outside. The audience seemed excited.

“You’re the last one today. A lot of people have died today, so I hope you will raise the spirits of the audience a bit. The Emperor is there too, so impress him,” one of the guards told him, when he was given a wooden sword and no amory at all. 

Ben almost laughed. 

“If you give us almost nothing, then it does not surprise me that so many die. Doesn’t seem fair,” Ben commented. 

“Watch your mouth pretty boy,” said the guard and gave him a warning look. “You won’t be joking anymore once you’re in the arena. Give them a show, win them over, that is your  _ job. _ ”

Ben simply nodded, still amused at how quickly the mood of the guard had changed. 

Then he took his place in front of the gate, waiting for it to be raised.

So, this was the moment, he thought. In a few seconds he would stand before the Emperor, the man who had killed his family and the best was, he did not know who Ben was. Nobody did. Ben Solo had died on that fateful day at the estate, nobody expecting his vengeful spirit returning from the dead today. He wanted to be the new champion, reach the Emperor, slit his throat when nobody was looking. What would come after that, he did not care about. 

He was ready to show Rome that you did not mess neither with the Solos, nor with the Skywalkers. 

The gate began to rise. 

* * *

Slowly, Ben walked into the arena, trying to get an overview quickly. It was a basic, oval shape, filled with sand everywhere. He could still see remnants of previous fights, mostly blood on the ground that had dried. He could feel everyone watching him, as he walked straight to the middle of the arena, in front of the Emperor’s tribune, to honor him with a deep bow. He did what he was supposed to do, acting like he had respect left for this person. His long, black hair, which had grown a lot in the past weeks of captivity, had fallen over his shoulder when he straightened his back again. He dared to look up to Emperor Palpatine for a second. 

There he was, so close and still so far away. Looking down on Ben with arrogance, not knowing he was facing his worst enemy right now. Then the woman besides Palpatine caught his attention. Her dark clothing style made her the only spot in the arena that was eating up all the sunlight. A strict hairstyle and a cold look made her look intimidating. Yet, Ben was caught off guard by her underlying beauty and the look she gave him. She wanted to be impressed by him. Interested in him.

His attention returned to the arena when a mass of guards entered, ready to battle him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ben said to himself. 

In the next moment they came running towards him, the audience screaming with excitement. 

It had sounded easy. Do something bad, being brought to the Coliseum as a Gladiator. Impress everyone. Gain the attention of Palpatine. In the end, Ben had to admit himself, that for a second he was afraid of dying right here and then. Rome did not want a new champion, they wanted to see him bleeding and dead. 

_ Time to prove them wrong.  _

He needed a proper sword and some pieces of armor. Before he started running towards the guards, he tried to count them. There were six or seven of them.  _ Let’s see how clever they are. _

Ben started to run towards them and with one swift movement, landing on the sand on his knees, sliding past the guards. Those stopped in confusion, enough time for Ben to get up and slap the wooden sword in the neck of one of them. Their weakest part. That fatal gap between their plates and helmet. The guard went down the next moment. He was probably not dead, but Ben took the chance to snatch that man’s sword and he would change the state the guard was in pretty soon. Without any hesitation he buried the sword inside the gap, sending him to the underworld, sending a silent prayer to Pluto to give him strength in return of offering him these souls. Then he also took the shield of the guard. 

When he raised the bloody sword against the rest of the guards, they were perplexed at how swiftly he had outsmarted them. The crowd was absolutely here for this turn of events and Ben could feel the excitement rising in the Coliseum. This was his chance to impress everyone. 

Whatever the guards had planned, they had forgotten it. They scattered around him, slashing after him and soon he got hold of one of them. He pulled the guard forward, almost dancing with him for a second before he slashed his throat, blood hitting him and the ground. The corpse landed beside him, not moving much anymore. 

Four guards left now. 

Those four started to finally get some organization back into their strategy again, attacking him as one group and Ben was hit on his left arm, feeling how the blood was spilling. It became painful to continue to hold the shield, but he kept holding onto it.

He brought some distance between him and the guards. Somehow he had to get them separated again. Changing the placements of the Sword and his shield, he threw his shield after them, almost hitting one. While it seemed like a miss, he had successfully separated one of the group. That one became his target. 

Right now he was mainly using the fighting style he had learned on the streets. It had involved many harsh lessons over the years, many bloody hands and many wounds. Fighting on the street was ugly, you would hack and slash at your opponent, using everything you would against them to ensure your survival. This was not different. Ben picked now a dagger up, which would help him in a close combat. 

It was a real gamble to not go for anything from the armor to protect himself, but the flexibility without it felt right now like an advantage. And of course, it would look more impressive if he won without any armor.

He jumped on the guard, who had been running away from him, a reaction that made the crowd laugh. When Ben landed on the man, the crowd was cheering again. Great, they were on his side. When he stabbed the man with the dagger, leaving him bleeding on the floor, the others were already coming on him, even though they were quite hesitant. 

The fight became an exciting three-to-one-fight, with Ben having to dodge many blows of swords, while he elegantly tried to stab them in return. The three almost overpowered him, adding a lot of new, deep wounds to his body. 

Again, he slipped away from them, one guard making the mistake of following him. For a second Ben acted like an easy target, leading that man into a trap and before he knew what was happening, Ben had already hacked off his head, kicking his dead body towards the other remaining guards. One of them stumbled, while Ben took the chance and threw his dagger at the other one. The crowd roared when the dagger entered the guards head through the open spots on the helmet. Ben believed the crowd was now fully behind him, landing such a lucky blow like that. 

_ Only one left,  _ he noticed.  _ Time to give them a show. _

He started to move his sword up, showing the crowd to cheer for him and  _ how _ they were cheering for him, when the last remaining guard, obviously afraid of Ben, strode toward him. 

Ben felt a rush of adrenaline and ran toward him, swords crossing each other. For a moment they fought, until Ben was able to make the guard stumble, so that he lost his sword. He also threw his sword away, which spread a murmur through the Coliseum. Time to really impress them. 

Both men were fighting off each other with their bare hands now. Before you pick up a sword on the street, you have to learn how to defend yourself with your body first. It was a lesson these guards were obviously missing. Ben was able to overpower the man, falling with him to the ground. The man was able to punch Ben a few times, hitting him on a few of his wounds. He ignored the pain. 

He had experienced much worse pain actually. 

When the man tried to crawl away from Ben, he was able to grab the man’s helmet, taking it off, exposing him completely and in the next second, with a swift movement of his hands he had broken that man’s neck. The body stopped moving under him and Ben got up.

Staring at the chaos he had left in the arena, he almost lost his balance. 

Then the crowd cheered for him, happy about the entertainment he had offered them. Ben was satisfied too, because he had left the impression he wanted to leave. He looked up, waving at the crowd, enjoying his time, even looking at the Emperor and the strange woman who both looked satisfied with the show, before he was taken back inside the Coliseum.

He had done horrible things today, but the worst was yet to come.

* * *

Feeling dizzy, a medic checked his wounds after they had kept him waiting for quite some time. He heard him babble on about Ben having the potential to become the new champion, if he would withstand the other rounds. From now, things would get only harder. Ben did not really listen, because everything the medic said was obvious anyways and was glad to return to the small prison besides the Coliseum. 

He saw Finn and Poe in the cell besides his.

“You made it!” he heard Poe say with excitement. 

Ben sat down at the floor, leaning against the stones that were dividing him and the outside world. “I knew the worst scum would survive,” he told them, sparking exhausted laughter between the three of them.

“You look bad. Like really bad. What did you fight against?” asked Poe. “Those bastards have sent lions in with me!” 

“Six or seven guards. I had to fight them without any armor.” 

“Bastards,” said Poe. 

“At least the both of us had amour. I had to fight against a giant of a man and I could only beat him with pure brutality… It’s disgusting these people enjoy this while eating their bread and drinking wine…” said Finn in a hushed voice.

“I never thought all these stories… that it was even worse than those,” added Poe. 

Ben took a deep breath, trying to ignore the pain from his wounds. “They accept all of this because of the food. We know how bad it is to live in this country where your emperor takes everything away from you. All these high taxes… With these games, food is guaranteed. If you would be starving you would also come to watch people die.” 

Both Finn and Poe were not able to say anything against it, silently agreeing. Ben didn’t know how much time passed by, as the sudden silence made it feel like he was drowning. In his mind he was thinking about the fight, how cruel the set up of it had been. He did not want to know which horrors would await him and his two friends in the upcoming rounds. His goal to reach the Emperor had suddenly become harder than he thought. 

Feeling dizzy again after he probably fell asleep for a short amount of time, flinching at the loud voices coming from outside of his cell. 

“Hey you!” someone screamed at him, entering the cell. 

Confused, he was lifted from the floor, carried outside. Only in the last moment he noticed Finn and Poe looking after him, looking worried. Had Ben done something wrong in the arena? Even inside himself that small feeling of fear grew. Maybe someone had recognized him as Ben Solo, long believed dead, now wanting to correct the mistake. 

They carried Ben away from the arena. 

* * *

Ben found himself at the Emperor’s giant palace, surrounded by a handful of guards, in front of a high ranking servant. The servant was probably leading the “household” and he was now closely observing Ben, who had been put in shackles. He had been brought to the kitchen and he knew everyone who worked here was looking at him. Nobody bothered to explain to him what was going on, as they apparently waited for someone to arrive. 

Indeed, two young women appeared behind the servant, obviously dressed to serve inside the palace. Their clothes were of a much better quality than those from the people working in the kitchen, but still clearly made like to blend in with the background and not outshine the wealthy owners of this place. 

“Rose, Connix, please bring… this  _ guest _ to the bathroom and make him look better than…  _ this _ ,” the servant told the girls while gesturing wildly at Ben. Both women nodded and then gave Ben a sign to follow them into a dark hallway, leading to the public parts of the palace. The guards followed the three of them. 

The opulence inside the palace was even worse than the pure spectacle of the arena. One beautifully carved statue of the gods after another, the finest rugs and cloth was used for both decoration and servants. Women and men alike with many jewels passed them, talking about politics or the newest gossip. Finest marble was used everywhere to make this place look bright and welcome, in addition to many sparkling jewels and gold used to highlight the details. Ben was disgusted. All the gold and bright colors would never help to hide the darkness that lay underneath it.

When they entered the bathroom, the guards also entered without asking. There was no way he could fight again against a dozen of them, still feeling exhausted from the fight in the arena, but it also meant to endure the presence of the guards and his non-existent privacy. 

The room was quite small, of course they would not use the finest bathroom for a Gladiator like Ben, so with the three of them and the guards the room became quite stuffed. A pool of hot water was in the middle of the room, steam coming from it. A bunch of fresh clothes and brushes had been placed beside it and a few plants made a stay in there quite relaxing. 

“Take off his shackles,” the woman called Rose commanded one of the guards. 

After the guard had taken his shackles away with hesitation, Rose had turned towards Ben. “And you, take off your clothes!”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “I prefer to take it slowly,” he joked.

“Stop joking. A man in your position should take the situation a bit more seriously.”

Ben shrugged at her stern response, taking off his clothes and entering the warm bath immediately, just to hide his naked body from all those unknown people around him. Although the both women had averted their eyes, they still peeked and seemed quite satisfied with what they had seen. Then they continued their work and helped to wash him. After some protest from Ben, the women stopped to help him, so he could do it alone. 

Quite some time later he got out of the water, drying himself under the watchful eyes of the guards. It felt a bit degrading, but he tried to ignore his uncomfortable feeling of being watched. His Gladiator clothes had been taken away in the meantime, replaced with fresh clothing. The soft and light cloth of his new attire was much easier to wear than his old one. His tunica covered most of his body, down to his knees, but highlighted his muscular arms and legs, followed by simple sandals. Rose and Connix had made sure to brush his dark hair, adding a few braids to it, to make it look a bit more interesting. Ben had probably not looked so well since a very long time, with all these fine clothes and his combed, long hair falling over his shoulders. He still wondered what all of this was for. 

Well, he got his answer a few minutes later, when he was brought to another room. This time, he entered alone, without Rose, Connix or the guards. The latter was still staying outside however. He stared at them, when Rose closed the door behind him and the silence settled. 

Slowly, he turned around, taking in everything he saw: candles everywhere, giving the room a soft lighting, armchairs and a chaise longue gathered around a fireplace, where embers were still glowing. The palace had seemed to radiate the prunk and arrogance on his way up here, this room was quite the opposite. It felt comfortable, almost had a feminine flair. The next thing he noticed were the big open windows, where a warm breeze entered and let the light curtains float. Behind them, one could look down at the city of Rome from a balcony, hidden in the night, illuminated only by a few lights. 

“You took your time,” he heard a sweet and soft voice, making him notice the big bed placed on a podium, close to the wall on his left. A figure was lying there in the shadows of the curtains surrounding it, watching him carefully. “I thought my invitation had been declined.”

“Oh, I was not aware that this had been an invitation,” he shot back. 

A chuckle. 

When the person got up and walked into the light of the next candleholder, he realized with a tiny bit of horror, that he was in the room with the Emperor’s granddaughter. For a second he considered running out of the room again or maybe jumping from the balcony, facing certain death in both scenarios, but at the same time he wondered  _ why _ he had been summoned to her. She seemed to sense his confusion about the situation, so she came closer while explaining everything to him. 

“I’ve been looking for a new bodyguard and I know you Gladiators are quite remarkable. You caught my eye today in the arena and I thought it would be great to meet you in private to get to know you better and to explain to you my offer,” she told him, now standing right before him, a fire burning in her eyes while she took in his muscles, his whole appearance. He remembered her, sitting beside her grandfather, already radiating a dark glow that had enchanted him and he could feel her pull now too. 

Being so close to her now, in a quite revealing dark green dress, showing as much skin as possible, he realized that behind that enchanting charme was also a dangerous lioness. He had to be careful around her. His eyes observed her closely, her body, her dress… and she noticed this, with a satisfied smile.

“Why is your highness looking for a bodyguard amongst the Gladiators?” he dared to ask, his voice low, to bridge the uncomfortable silence between them. 

“Well, I think you Gladiators can handle many things, especially protecting someone with your impressive bodies. I love that,” she touched his left arm, slowly tracking his muscles and her touch sent a shiver down his spine. “And I love giving them a chance to enjoy the rest of their life a bit, it’s a quid pro quo for each side involved.” 

Ben just watched her as she chuckled again, a high pitched, sharp sound. 

“Of course they have to do their duty to protect me, while they’re not in the arena. Being with me all the time, outside of these dirty cells, protecting me when I decide to go out, enjoying the sunshine and delicious foods. That would be your main duty.”

Ben had a feeling in which direction this talk would go and so he stared at the windows, with a neutral stare, trying to ignore her, as if he wouldn’t be able to hear her words. 

The woman came closer to him, making sure he would listen to her, knowing that he tried to ignore her. He could smell her perfume… She smelled like the lemon trees on the fields at his home...

“As a special treat you will be able to accompany me in my bed.” 

_ Oh gods. _

Ben just stared, not able to give her one answer.

He had come to this place to impress the Emperor, to fight for being one of the best Gladiators, so he could bury his sword in Palpatine’s chest. Instead, the first fight in the arena had been a wake up call and now he was standing in front of his granddaughter, who asked him to be her bodyguard. Her lover, burying something else inside her. Her precious toy until the day he died. 

She did not seem pleased by his silence and moved a bit away from him.

“You don’t seem happy. Others before you have enjoyed this offer pretty much, as I have. Are you still a virgin and afraid of a woman like me? Is another woman waiting outside the city walls for you? Well, time to forget her,” she said, with a cold tone in her voice now, becoming intimidating. She had moved to a small table, filling in a drink for herself and taking a sip from it. “Answer.”

“I’m… I’m not a virgin, your highness,” he answered, feeling a heat rise to his face. It was no lie, however there had not been many women in his life and even less ones that meant something to him. When he was a young man, he wanted to feel how it was to love a woman and finding one for figuring out his taste was easy during late evenings at a tavern. He knew that he attracted women quite often and it was easy to choose one when he did not want to spend the night alone. But never any feelings were involved. “There is no woman.”

“Good,” she finally said after some consideration. “Then this should be an easy task for you. I do hope though that you are as good in bed as you are in the arena, even I have a standart,” she let one of her straps slowly slide from her shoulder, almost revealing too much of her breasts. It was a clear provocation. An invitation.

“I can’t do this.” 

With an angry force she slammed the glass back on the table, luckily not breaking it. 

_ The privileged child who is not getting what she wants comes through _ , he thought with amusement.

“I can’t believe it. Why can’t you do it? The offer I made is the best you can receive. Not being stuck in the dirty cells all the time, enjoying the light of the day? Having all the fun with the Emperor’s granddaughter all day long until the next round of the arena fights kicks off? Nobody ever has said no to this,” she snapped at him.

“I have no time for a woman, I am a busy man,” he told her, angrily, coming closer. For a moment she looked a bit afraid, but still stayed where she was. “Besides, I have some friends amongst the other Gladiators, they might be a much better fit for your request.”

“No,” she said with eagerness. “You’re the interesting one, you should have seen yourself down there today. I want to know more about you,” she obviously let her gaze wander over him, trying to sound collected, even though it was obvious his sudden defiance sparked something inside her. Yet, there still was anger between the temptation. “And to say to my face I am a waste of time… Literally no other Gladiator has dared to do that. I could let you get killed.”

“Well, you are a waste of time and I’d rather die at your command than fuck you all night long,” he repeated, a bit of his hatred for her grandfather, for her family, coming through. 

She looked up to him, angrily and even a bit in shock at the things he dared to say to her face. In the next moment, she was clinging onto him, pressing her lips onto his after she had grabbed his tunica and pulled him down to her. Ben was at first surprised by the kiss, but even more surprising was that he leaned into it. The young woman pushed him down on the chaise longue, sitting soon on top of him, still kissing him passionately, the fire that had sparked between their heated discussion coming through now. She was pushing him into the pillows and a moan escaped him, hating his body for reacting to her body, her touch… Clinging onto him, his hands now moving over the edges of her body, her hips and then the naked skin of her legs, as her dress had slipped up. The heat was suddenly rising between them and he could feel how much he wanted her. His hands lingered for a moment close to her breasts, only a movement away from slipping under the cloth, letting it slide down and gently playing with them. At the same time he felt also tempted to ignore all of the foreplay and just take her, here and then. Giving her what she wanted and even more than she requested. He didn’t have had sex with a woman in long time due to his captivity and there was a lot of steam to let out… 

Right when he wanted to rip the dress from her body, she suddenly got up, letting him lie on the chaise longue in confusion. She looked down at him, staring between his legs in satisfaction. His body had spoken loud and clear that he had wanted her, as an obvious bump was hiding there under his tunica.

_ Oh, this little beast, _ he thought.  _ She has given me a taste of her…  _

And she was indeed having the upper hand.

She gave him a few minutes to cool off, before she called the guards, which immediately came into the room, surprised that this meeting had already ended so soon. Ben guessed her guests visited her much longer usually. While the guards put the shackles back on him, the little beast just smiled triumphantly at him.

“Please bring him back to his cell, there he can still think about the offer I made him…” she commended the guards, with the latter part being a command towards Ben. Thinking he was supposed to do, about her, the desire for her, in his cold and dirty cell. Oh, he knew exactly what she was doing here. He hated her.

When the guards led him out of her room, he dared to look over his shoulder, her spell probably working on him already. He had betrayed himself by enjoying the kiss, the touches way too much. Their eyes were meeting, almost freezing the time. Maybe he even hated himself in this moment, because all he wanted to do was scream at the guards to let him go and return to her, to push her on the bed, take everything she gave him. 

But then the door closed, separating them, a cruel silence filling his head, only filled by the lingering smell of her lemon perfume.

* * *

When they threw Ben back into his cell again, into the darkness, he stumbled and stood there for a moment, reflecting on what had happened tonight, before he leaned against the wall in defeat and slowly sat down. In the meantime Finn and Poe had noticed his return and were now at the bars of their cell besides his, trying to look at him in the dark. 

“What did happen?” Finn asked.

“Where have they brought you?” asked Poe at the same time. 

Ben looked over to them, not sure what to say about what had happened between him and Palpatine’s granddaughter. 

“God, you look like you’ve seen a ghost!” noticed Poe.

“I kind of did…” he finally admitted. Both were now listening closely to his next words. “They brought me to the Emperor’s Palace. I was not aware at first and I was even more shocked when I was brought to his granddaughter.”

This drew in impressed whistles by the two men. 

“I am not sure… she wanted a bodyguard… but she is also sleeping with those men and honestly, I do not have time to waste with a woman like her.”

Finn frowned. “Why? If you ask me that would be a perfect opportunity to get close to important information that we could use to survive here. Sleeping with her seems like a small price in comparison if you ask me.”

“Even though it’s morally quite in a grey zone…” Poe added quickly. 

“Yeah, and that. But they’re also putting us in an arena where we have to fight for life and death, and that is morally so far away from a grey zone…” Finn said. 

Ben just stared into the darkness, thinking about what Finn had just suggested. When his cell neighbors realized that Ben was not in the mood to share more details with them, they went back to sleep. 

The silent helped him to sort out his thoughts and feelings.

He had been initially been so  _ dumb  _ to decline her offer, her finally realized. Finn had been right. The woman had offered him a perfect chance to infiltrate the palace, gain information on Palpatine himself… Finn did not know who Ben truly was and what he actually had planned, as did the little Beast. It felt like an opportunity had been served on him on a silver platter, a possibility to get closer to Palpatine sooner than later, to get his revenge. Maybe he could indeed help Finn and Poe survive the arena with the position as a bodyguard, as he was sure he would face death when he even just tried to murder the Emperor once. 

He could be thankful that the little Beast had not given up on him too early. Her message tonight had been loud and clear: here is my offer and this is what you would get. He would be able to sleep with her under Palpatine’s roof, taking away something precious from him in the process. When he thought about her, her soft and warm body on top of him, thinking about all the wicked things he could do with her, his body reacted heavily. 

It was truly a dark thought that crossed his mind, but taking the family of a little boy away had also been dark and cruel. The Palpatine’s were playing dirty since so many years, now it was probably time that Ben also played dirty. 


	3. The Beast

Ben did not see the granddaughter for days. 

In fact, he already feared that he had misinterpreted the evening, each of them giving something to leave the other wanting more. The little beast could probably have any man in the empire… a mere Gladiator like him who could easily be replaced probably did not matter to her. Maybe she had already talked to someone else, found another one to be her bodyguard. There was a chance he missed this huge opportunity to bring his plan forward. 

The worst part of it was that this woman always visited him in his dreams. 

When he was not occupied with training, she was always one thought away.

He hated her so much.

“Focus!” he heard Poe scream and jumping to the side at the last minute. 

Ben almost stumbled and fell to the floor.

“Stop thinking about this woman!” Finn scolded him teasingly. “It will get you killed in the arena!”

Looking up at Finn, Ben stared at him annoyed. “I do not spare one single thought about her! Maybe you should not let your guard down!” With that, he jumped up, slashing after Finn with his sword. Finn had trouble to react properly to Ben coming at him and with an elegant move it was Finn on the floor and Ben holding the tip of his sword at his friends throat. 

“Stop lying to yourself,” Finn told him, after Ben helped to get him up. 

“You two know we are supposed to train and not talk… we have a fight tomorrow… I do not want to be unprepared because of you two gossiping chatterboxes,” they heard Poe say.

Finn turned around, sticking his tongue out and Poe just gave him a very vulgar hand gesture back. Ben smiled at these two. At least they still haven’t lost their fun and humour in this situation. There were other men hiding in their cells, afraid of their future in the arena. He knew that it would be an honor to die at the hand of Finn or Poe and they felt the same. 

After training they went to get their dinner, a stew made of various herbs, vegetables and a bit of meat. Ben was sure the meat was just the meagre rest of what the people at the palace were eating. But he ate, he had to if he wanted to have enough energy for tomorrow. After dinner, they were led back to their cells, today not chatting much and rather choosing sleep. 

The next morning, Ben could already hear people in the Coliseum, already excited for the next round of the games. Whatever would happen today, it would be a harsh trial, so much was obvious. 

After an easy breakfast made of fruit, Ben and his friends were put into separate cells, with stone walls on all sides. He would have no idea when his friends would be brought into the arena. Even the guard commented they did this to keep the element of surprise alive. 

Ben sat down on the floor, leaning against the cold wall, hearing the faint noise of the crowd. He wondered what would wait for him today. But then the little Beast found a way into his head again, her curves and lips. She was indeed a beautiful woman who knew how to use her looks, he had to admit. Maybe if he could survive he could impress her again? If not, he would have to stick to his old plan, which would be a bit harder to achieve, but not impossible…

Suddenly the door was opened and someone in a dark hood entered the cell. The door was immediately closed and Ben got up, staring at the hooded figure, standing there in silence. Then the person revealed themselves.

It was the little Beast. 

Ben had to hide a grin.

“Hm…” she said, while letting her gaze go over the cell. “The fact you prefer this over my charming bed…”

“What do you want?” he said, emotionless, trying to appear cold. 

“Oh, I just wanted to check how my brave Gladiator is doing today. Cheering him up a bit, so he wins,” she said with a smile on her lips. 

Ben stared at her, hating her in secret. The memory of her had tormented him for days, the fantasy of what he could do with her was coming back now, the temptation. He watched her closely as she opened the hood, claiming it was quite hot in the cell, showing him a purple dress, revealing much of her chest. The cloth was so thin that he could see the shape of her legs… her hips, her breats… It was obvious she was wearing it for him. Her understanding of cheering someone on. 

This woman was pure fire. 

And one could easily get burned by it.

“You’re brave to enter the cell alone. I could kill you,” he warned her.

“If you had the intention you would have already done it. I have a feeling however, it would help you more to win these games and become the newest champion of my grandfather…” She smiled again at him. “My offer still stands by the way… If you survive today I want a decision.”

“I already made up my mind.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise and she was even more surprised to find herself in the next moment pushed against the wall of the cell, one of his hands on her cheek, the other on her hips. He would have to turn off his head when he was with her, his disgust. He was doing this for his family, for his revenge. Doing the empire a favour if he was able to slit Palpatine’s throat. 

“When I win I will fuck you hard tonight, making you forget every man you had before. You won’t regret choosing me if I make you scream in delight,” his hand wandered from her cheek to her breasts. The damn cloth of her dress was so thin, he could feel the warmth of her skin, the shape of her breast and nipple gone hard. She tried to look calm, unimpressed even, but her body was reacting to him, his words. In her eyes he could see that he indeed sparked a fire. 

“I want you to moan my name all night long…” she said, her voice hoarse. Ah, little egocentric Beast.

“And I want you to scream mine…” he stared down at her. “You never told me yours…”

He slowly kissed her neck, while still caressing her breast, his hand on the hip gliding a bit further down. She reacted to it and raised the skirt, so he could slip under it with his fingers…

“It’s Rey…” she whispered.

“Rey.” he repeated slowly. “Rey, Rey, Rey.” His deep voice seemed to turn her on, making her push against him more. “Mine is Ben…” 

He slid under her skirt with his fingers, between her legs, touching her sweet spot, already wet. 

“Ben…!” she moaned when he touched her finally there. Her moaning his name was the last straw, making him hard.

Before he could slide completely into her with his fingers, she pushed him slowly away. She had a bright red on her cheeks, her gaze at him expectant. A silent invitation for tonight. To continue him touching her, taking off her clothes, finally getting a taste of the hard manhood between his legs. He had to admit, he couldn’t wait to taste her too. 

He hated that his body and mind were so occupied by her. 

“I hope this will keep you determined to survive later… Thinking of me down there,” she said. “As a little present for this cute encounter… I hope you know your fellow Gladiators well. You won’t be alone today.” Then she put her hood back into place and left the cell.

_ Fuck, _ he thought.

_ Fuck  _ **_her_ ** , was the second thought he had. And how he would do that after his fight. He felt a strong desire he had never felt before, that she just had sparked. The little Beast knew exactly what she was doing… and she would suffer, as a payback for arousing him. 

His next thought belonged to something else she had told him, bringing him back to reality. He would not be alone today in the arena. It had sounded a lot like he would be fighting with a group today. He hoped for the right people to be assigned to him.

* * *

When they had come to take him to the arena, they put him in a blindfold. On their way, the guards pushed him into all kinds of things standing around, making fun of him. How much he wanted to punch and do even more bad things to them…

In the end he was placed on some kind of podest. That was when his blindfold got taken away and he got the command to not turn around before they were in the arena. Ben guessed his fellow fighters were standing behind him. He did as he was told. This time they got thick leather armor. Still not ideal, but he hoped to get some good weapons this time. 

The podest moved up and soon he could see the stands with the crowd cheering for the beginning of a new fight. The sunlight blinded him for a second, but he could soon see that there were weapons scattered through the arena. Good. No enemies yet though. That would stay a surprise he guessed. Then he looked around, his gaze staying at the Emperor’s tribune. He was too far away to see her… Rey, looking hopefully at him. He could only make out the purple of her dress. If everything went well today, he would rip that dress off of her soon anyways and see her much as possible. He was excited. 

He then turned around.

“Yes!” Finn exclaimed when he saw Ben and Poe. The three were happy to see each other, luck being on their side. 

“Let’s show them how it’s done!” Ben told his friends, who agreed. “We need to find weapons first.”

“I want an axe or a hammer, I can handle those the best!” Finn said in excitement. 

“We will find you a weapon that you will love,” Poe teased him and then the three stood back to back as guards were let in. It was almost a whole army. Ben would have been afraid when he would have faced them alone, but with Finn’s strength and Poe’s quick movements, they could do a lot of damage and offer the crowd and the Emperor a show they will never forget. 

Ben was overwhelmed with a rush of adrenaline, still feeling on fire after Rey’s touches, excited to be fighting along Finn and Poe and the screaming crowd. It became obvious really quickly that the crowd was on their side. Whatever Finn and Poe did in their fights, the crowd had been impressed by them too and seeing three favorites together made the people go crazy probably. 

“To the closest heap of weapons!” Poe commanded and the other two complied. They needed at least some weapons first, so they ran to the nearest heap, which was thankfully away from the bunch of fighters coming close. Ben just simply grabbed a sword, followed by a wooden shield. It wouldn’t hold that long, but for now it was good enough. Soon Finn, with another sword and Poe with a spear appeared on his side. 

“Me and Finn will distract them,” Ben told his friends. “Poe will try to flee in the meantime, attacking from behind. Maybe we can already take out a few of these soldiers and then we will try to run for the next heap of weapons. We just need to confuse them as long as possible.”

The other two beside him agreed, getting ready for the impact of the soldier’s swords. Ben steeled himself and stood heavy when the first swords hit his shield, which made a noise as if it would break apart soon. Ben pushed the warriors back, making them stumble, while Finn immediately slashed after them. Poe used this moment for himself to elegantly dig away from the group. Ben could see that Poe was able to bring down one of these men, which was good. Poe took the body of the man, throwing it on the others, who then turned around. As Poe ran away, Finn and Ben slashed down two or three men, while making their run to the next heap. There, Ben and Finn were both able to find a shield for themselves, while Finn found an axe.

“Yes, yes… this feels good,” Finn said, while throwing the axe from one hand to another to feel the weight. He then looked over his shoulder after Poe. Ben had grabbed a pair of daggers for his friend. “Poe needs help,” Finn said, which made the two move again. 

They attacked the soldiers from behind, especially Finn taking great joy in hacking on them, his axe crushing through their armor as if it was simple wood. Ben was able to push forward to reach Poe, throwing his shield into the face of a man, who then went to the floor. The crowd was screaming in excitement the whole time and even more as Ben arrived at his friend’s side and handed him the daggers. Ben proceeded to grab a second sword from one of the men on the floor. 

“They love us!” Poe said amused. “I mean, they love me the most for sure.”

“Don’t be so arrogant, they obviously love me the most!” They heard Finn scream at them over the heads of the soldiers, who looked a bit confused about this trivial talk. 

Ben only smiled, enjoying hearing them still having fun while facing death. He also knew deep down that only one person mattered to him right now, the person whose affection would open the doors of possibilities. Let the other two have the rest of the people. 

“Focus!” Ben told them, when he had to bury his sword into the throat of a soldier, who had come straight for Finn’s back. It was a reminder the other two needed and they soon chose their own combats. 

The three of them had slashed down a ton of soldiers, when two chariots with more soldiers entered the arena and dropped some kind of fluid. A third chariot joined, setting the fluid on fire. 

“Are you kidding me,” Finn said, growling under his breath when the Chariots came closer. Poe and Ben grabbed a dead man, throwing it at one of the chariots, crashing into the horses and them getting out of control. The result was the chariot falling to the side as a wheel broke, soldiers and horses landing in the sand. The other chariot was still able to spill the fluid and the three had to make sure to not touch any of it. 

Ben ran toward the group of soldiers that had fallen out of the chariot. It were three men and their swords clashed right when the third chariot set the fluid on fire, enclosing Ben with the soldiers. One of the soldiers was able to hit Ben on his left arm, making him lose the second sword. In return, he kicked that soldier into the fire and his painful screaming was filling the air of the arena. He had no time to feel bad, as the other two attacked him from his right side, pushing him dangerously close to the fire. Somewhere he heard another crash, but could not locate the sound. The fire caused a lot of chaos.

A horse that got loose suddenly jumped over the fire, obviously in panic, crashing into one of the soldiers Ben was fighting, distracting him from the remaining one, who could jump at Ben and made him crash into the fallen chariot. The soldier had a dagger in his hand and was aiming for Ben’s throat. While the soldier was able to touch his skin with the blade, Ben indeed felt a bit of pain, he also tried to push the hand with the blade away. After a few minutes of pushing, he was able to overtake the hand of the soldier, grabbing the blade himself and pushing it into the slits of the helmet, making the man on top of Ben go limp. Ben pushed him away.

He took a deep breath, taking in his surroundings.

Another chariot had come down and Poe and Finn were struggling against the remaining soldiers. Not many were left. Ben crawled out of the destroyed chariot, feeling a pain at his throat and on his side. He was full of blood, not knowing which one belonged to him. He picked up his two swords from the floor, jumping through the dying ring of fire, picking up speed to reach his two friends. 

Finn was still swinging his axe, making it possible for him to hit the soldiers with some distance between them. He was also the only one of the three who had not gotten beaten up so hard. Poe on the other side was also full of blood, his leather armor falling apart, sweat running down his forehead. He looked tired. 

Ben was able to send one of the soldiers to the floor, surprising him from behind. From there only three soldiers were left. They found their end very quickly. One through Ben’s sword, after he had won a one-on-one combat against him, making him fall and being able to bury his sword into his throat. Finn send a head flying and in the end, Ben was able to overpower the remaining soldier, holding him in place so Poe could have the honor of stabbing that poor guy.

When the body hit the floor, the crowd roared. 

The three friends looked at each other, then let their gaze wander around the arena, making sure there won’t be any more bad surprises. After they were sure, they let their weapons fall, as guards entered the arena to lead them out again. 

After they had been led out and brought back to their cells, they could still hear the crowd roar. 

“It seems to me as if we have impressed these people,” Finn said, trying to get a look through the very tiny and narrow window. Ben, in his own cell, only the bars dividing him from his friends looked over to them. 

“This is good,” he finally said. “This might help all three of us to stay alive as long as possible.” He sighed. He was glad the cells were quite dark, since nobody had bothered to make the three of them clean up, the blood and dirt was still sticking to him. He had no idea where he had wounds, he just knew that there were multiple parts of his body hurting. Hopefully all this had been worth it. 

“I mean, we gave them a major show,” he heard Finn say. “We fought like wild animals out there… and it’s exactly what they want to see. I am just becoming worried that we might be pitted against each other one day.”

“Let’s not think about that yet,” Poe said. 

Then they heard the sound of guards approaching. They stopped right in front of Ben’s cell.

“Get up,” one of the guards commanded and Ben complied. He noticed Finn and Poe looking confused over to him. 

“Don’t worry if I won’t be back tonight,” he gave them a knowing smile. 

The look on their faces was priceless. 

Then he followed the guards to the Emperor’s palace. 

* * *

This time Ben was neither sent to the kitchen or the bathroom, but instead the guards led him directly to Rey’s chambers. They pushed him inside, making him stumble. He turned around just as they closed the doors, ignoring his angry stare. Then he turned around, his gaze immediately finding Rey standing in the room, watching him in silence. The sunlight illuminated her from behind, making her look like a goddess, her shape visible under the light cloth. 

“It’s a bit early,” he noted.

“I don’t care,” was her short answer. Her voice was hoarse and for a moment they were looking at each other across the room, as if there was an invisible wall between them. “You won. So I want you to keep your promise.”

“Ah yes… I just thought I was allowed to take a bath first…” 

“I don’t care,” she repeated, not letting him finish his sentence, sounding determined.

_ Oh _ , he thought. _ She literally wants to get dirty. Interesting.  _

Was he really that desirable? Before him stood a woman that was willing to give herself to him, in such a short time that her reply had surprised him a bit. He took a deep breath. He would have to turn off his mind, his conscience. Ben would be sleeping with the enemy tonight, what mattered was the act. To satisfy her. To get information from her. To get close to her grandfather. 

He could do this. 

So he slowly crossed the room until he stood in front of her. She took in the blood on his skin, raising an eyebrow. Her look up to him was demanding. For a moment he debated how he should approach her… but she seemed to like his dominant personality, he probably could have taken her in the cell this morning. It felt good to have such an influence on a person.

He grabbed her, a gasp escaping her mouth, as he led her to the bed and throwing her on it. In surprise she stared up to him and he looked down on her, not allowing any protest. She chose him and he would show her who had the upper hand in the bed. He was still dirty from the arena fight, adrenaline still in his veins and the least he would be was being gentle. But another look at her made him realize that she looked pleased.

He leaned over her, kissing her neck, pushing up her dress, caressing her soft skin on her thighs. Then his hands wandered slowly up, over her stomach to her breasts, playing with them. She arched her back, moaning under her breath. He touched the brooch sitting between her breasts, holding the cloth of the dress in place. When he opened it, the cloth fell apart and he could let his fingers slit over the hot skin of her chest, touching her breasts, her hard nipples. Then he continued kissing her on her neck, before he wandered down. He would make sure that while he took her, they would not kiss as it felt too intimate, reserved only for true lovers. At least there were many more spots on a body to kiss.

While he kissed her breasts, licking them carefully, his hand wandered down, touching her wet spot between her legs. The touch and realization that she was ready made him immediately go hard. He massaged her a bit, letting his fingers slide in. Slowly he moved in and out, making her moan louder. Then he stopped to take off his clothes. 

In the meantime, she also ditched her dress quickly.

She looked at his manhood, erected in front of her. Again, he reminded himself to turn off his head. Focus on the act. Nothing else. Then he spread her legs and slid into her, both moaning. Damn, it really had been a long time since he had sex with a woman. He also did not leave Rey much time to adjust to his length, starting to move inside her quickly. However, as she moaned loudly under him, some sunlight bathing her skin in gold, it was obvious that she wanted to be handled a bit harder. He grabbed her hips, to hold her in place, thrusting into her as hard as possible. 

Even he was overwhelmed by feeling her being so wet for him, that it was easy to push in and out at a quick and hard pace. At least he was used to simply doing his duty, turning off his emotions. On the streets you weren’t supposed to lose your heart too quickly. And yet… Rey looked so lovely under him, lost in her arousal, moving along with him, touching his muscles, scratching his arms when he went deep into her. 

It felt strange sleeping with her, with someone he was supposed to hate. But it would bring him closer to his goal…

_ Turn off your head, _ he reminded himself.

When they both reached their climax, Ben was still so excited, that he did not wait long to take her for a second time, this time changing the position, lying on the side behind her, raising one of her legs. Rey still had not recovered from the first time, burying herself into the sheets, moaning loudly. She screamed “Ben!” when she came hard for a second time. That alone made him almost take her a third time in the row, but she turned to him, lying beside him, looking him in his eyes. Her cheeks were red, her hairstyle ruined. He liked this peculiar look of exhaustion on her. And she was smiling lightly…

“We have to get ready…  _ now _ you’re gonna take a bath as you will be coming with me to dinner,” she told him, sitting up. He had his hand placed on her hips at first and with her movement they had moved to her stomach. His hand rested there for a moment. Then he let her go. 

They had turned the bed into a mess. The sheets were tangled, dirt and bloody stains covering the white linen. Rey told him that Rose would clean the bed when they were at dinner. Ben sat a moment on the bed, watching her walk gracefully through the room while being naked. Then she put a robe over herself, calling Rose and commanding her to fill hot water in the bathtub. 

When Rose walked to the bathroom, she had to walk past the bed and she definitely noticed Ben sitting on there. But there was no reaction. When the woman had disappeared in the bathroom, he noticed that Rey stood beside him.

“Don’t worry, this is not the first time Rose has seen a man on my bed. Especially my bodyguards,” she told him, seemingly amused.

“You take great pride in fucking a lot of men,” he noted. Something sparked in her eyes. Was it hate? Or hurt? “I’ll make sure you won’t forget me so quickly though.”

Carefully, she touched his hair, pushing a strand out of his sweaty face. A strange gesture. He looked up to her. 

“Maybe I like it. Maybe I wish there would be more,” she almost whispered, a sad tone in her voice. “Let me enjoy the only freedom I have.” 

Before Ben could ask further questions, Rose entered the room, saying the bath was ready. Ben was forced to go first. Since he was still naked he simply went into the big bathtub, which was more like a pool of hot water. Rose had added some milk, giving the water a white appearance, as well as herbs which relaxed him. 

There he sat, in Palpatine’s palace. Taking a bath in the chambers of his granddaughter, after having slept with her. He washed himself, before he sat there thinking. Just this morning he had fought for his life and now he was enjoying at least a bit of luxury again. It had been years since he had taken such a nice bath. 

A splash beside him made him jump. Rey had crawled into the tiny pool, letting herself fall into it a bit. She ducked beneath the surface of the water and when she came up she looked again like a goddess, this time like Venus herself probably, with her wet hair clinging to her head, covering her breasts a bit. It was difficult to keep the thoughts of her moaning under him, feeling her insides and caressing her skin out of his head, so he would not get hard again. 

He must have looked a bit too surprised, as she came closer and smiled at him. “Don’t look like that. We’re sleeping with each other, so we can take a bath together.”

“If you say so,” was his simple answer. 

“I hope you will speak a bit more with me in the future,” she said while she started washing herself. “Your grumbling doesn’t help much. I mean it’s good you’re not a talker in bed and rather someone who does things… But I appreciate discussions from time to time. I want to get to know the person who protects me.” 

Warily he looked over to her.  _ Protecting her _ , he repeated in his head.

Rey then noticed the wounds on Ben’s body, now better visible since he cleaned himself well. Again, she came a bit closer, not even asking if she was allowed to touch it, but she did touch the wound at his throat anyways.

“Were you afraid?” she suddenly asked.

Perplexed he looked at her. It took him a moment to reply. “I did not… really have time to think about that.”

“I was worried for a moment,” she admitted. She touched his skin with her fingertips carefully, then moving slowly down to his wound at the side, that he got from the chariot. Her sensible touch made him go insane on the inside. On the outside, he had to hide that he had gotten hard again. “I hope the wounds do not inflame. I will make sure a medic will look later after them.” 

Then she continued wandering down, moving her under the surface of the water, embracing his hard manhood. 

“I really feel honored,” she said, pleased. “You must like me a lot.”

_ Actually I hate you, _ he thought.  _ You can be glad my body is just reacting and nothing more. _

He moaned as she moved her hand up and down. 

“Say my name…” she whispered to him. 

_ This little, self centered beast… _

“And don’t look so angry.”

Her grip got harder. He cursed and then had to moan. 

“Rey…” finally escaped from his lips. 

In the next moment, Rey sat on top of him, leading his manhood inside her. She grabbed his shoulders, riding him hard. It was a quick pleasure for both of them, as release hit them after a few minutes together. They had not more time left, but this woman really wanted him so much apparently, that she did not bother to be late to the dinner with her grandfather. On one side he was kinda glad he had so much power over her, but on the other side he feared that this job would be much harder because of her not getting enough pleasure from him. 

* * *

A bit later Rey’s maids helped both of them in their attire. There were Rose and Connix swirling around them, as well as a new girl he hadn’t seen before, called Jannah. They had put Ben in a black tunic, simple sandals. He would not wear any weapons on him tonight, since a lot of guards would be around in the dining room anyways. They combed Ben’s hair and gave him some decorative braids. 

“You look like the prince of a country, far away from here,” Rey told him, when she stood besides him and dismissed her maids. She was wearing a stunning yellow dress, light and perfect for an early evening, the warm air hugging one's skin. She acted like something was stuck on his tunic to have an excuse to touch him. While she did, she started to tell him: “When we’re in the dining room you will stand beside the door, close to the guards. My grandfather accepts my wish for a bodyguard, but he does not trust people like you.”

Ben wouldn’t trust himself too in this situation.

“Do not speak, do not look too much at me. Especially not  _ in that way _ . Grandfather doesn’t… he doesn’t know that I am sleeping with my bodyguards. Let him believe I have never been touched,” she said before she took a deep breath. Her voice sounded like a whisper, almost falling apart. “Also, keep your hands to yourself and always walk a step behind me.”

Ben nodded at these instructions.

After that, they left Rey’s room. He followed her, his hands clinging to his sides to not make the impression that he would hurt her, as they walked through the corridors, with many gazes from guards placed there, following them. 

Soon they had arrived at the dining room, where Palpatine was already seated. Someone else was sitting there too. 

“Ah Rey! This is my granddaughter that I have been speaking of,” said Palpatine, gesturing at Rey who came closer to the table. Ben took his place besides the door, being stared at by the guards there. He gave them a sign to fuck off and do their jop proecting the Emperor. Annoyed at him, they did. 

The other person, a man, had gotten up. 

“Who is that grandfather?” Rey simply asked. 

“The son of an old friend, we have been talking about you and what a formidable wife you would make,” her grandfather replied.

While Rey handed the man coldly her hand so he could kiss the back of it, Ben noticed how stiff Rey had become. She coldly turned away and did not speak much during the dinner, focusing on her food most of the time. That was… an interesting observation. 

Ben also used his time to carefully watch Palpatine and this young man. They talked the whole time, trying from time to time to include Rey who had spaced out completely. Here he was, in the same room with his worst enemy, having a few hours earlier laid in bed with his granddaughter, Palpatine not realizing any of this. Which was good of course, it would give Ben enough time to think about his plan again, adjusting everything to his new situation. 

Palpatine not once seemed to notice Ben, but the other man once looked over, but not bothering much about him. 

But it was Rey that at one point looked over to him, pain in her eyes, obviously wishing the evening would be over soon, especially after that man had made a very offensive joke about a possible marriage. Based on Palaptine’s face, he looked like he was actually starting to consider a new candidate. 

When Palpatine dismissed Rey and his guest, she basically ran away from the man, Ben giving this guy a stare that made him stop following Rey. It kinda felt good to know that men usually had a hard time getting between her legs and he got it so easily from her. 

He followed her through the palace, back to her quarters. Rey stomped inside, while Ben closed the door slowly. 

“I can’t believe this!” Rey growled, taking off her jewelry and throwing it through the room. Thankfully, both of them were alone. 

“What was that about?” he asked, while he watched another earring fly. 

Rey did not reply immediately. She just stood there in her room, shaking with anger. Then she whirled around to him. “I do not want to talk about this,” she finally said. 

Hm, Rey was a strange woman. It would probably take some time to analyze her to get even more Information that he might need. At least he knew her relationship with her grandfather was not the best. 

“Do me a favour though,” he heard her say, focusing again on her. “Please fuck me the whole night so I can forget this evening.”

Of course he complied to the command. 


End file.
